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If you’ve ever grabbed a box of those soft, frosted grocery store cookies and eaten three before you even got home, these homemade Lofthouse Cookies are about to become your new favorite treat. They’re ultra-soft, perfectly sweet, and topped with a fluffy layer of pastel frosting and sprinkles. The best part? They’re surprisingly easy to make at home—and taste even better than the store-bought version.
Cookies are always a hit! Try my Lemon Crinkle Cookies and Raspberry Cookies next.
Why you’ll love this copycat Lofthouse cookie recipe!
If you’ve ever had an original Lofthouse cookie, then you know that they are insanely delicious. But what makes them so good?
Well, it’s a combination of things. For one, the cookies are super soft and fluffy, which is very different from a traditional sugar cookie. They’re also slightly chewy, which gives them a great texture. And finally, the frosting is sweet, creamy, and oh-so-velvety smooth.
All of these factors add up to make one incredible cookie, so trust me when I say that if you make a batch of these copycat Lofthouse cookies at home, they will disappear almost immediately! It’s a good thing they’re so easy that you can make them again and again!
Here are a few highlights of this recipe:
- Better than store-bought. Fresh, flavorful, and made with simple ingredients.
- Perfect for any occasion. Birthdays, holidays, school parties, or just because.
- Fun to decorate. Change the frosting color and sprinkles to match any theme.
- Make-ahead friendly. These cookies store and freeze beautifully.
Table of Contents
Ingredients You Need
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
For the Lofthouse Sugar Cookies:
- Granulated sugar – Just everyday white sugar here!
- Unsalted butter – Let this come to room temperature.
- Full-fat sour cream – Using full-fat sour cream is important! It’s key to the texture here.
- Egg – Here’s the best way to crack an egg.
- Vanilla extract – Adds warm, bakery-style flavor.
- Cake flour – This is how you get light, fluffy copycat Lofthouse cookies! (Learn more: Cake Flour vs. All Purpose Flour)
- Baking powder and baking soda – For lift.
For the Frosting:
- Unsalted butter – This needs to be softened, too.
- Powdered sugar – To sweeten without making the frosting gritty.
- Heavy cream – This helps make the frosting rich and fluffy.
- Food coloring – Any color you like!
- Sprinkles – A fun finishing touch. I love using rainbow sprinkles, but use your favorite color combination.
Variations
- If you’re not concerned about matching the Lofthouse look and flavor, you can swap the frosting with chocolate frosting or cream cheese frosting.
- For a more classic sugar cookie flavor, use a combination of vanilla extract and almond extract.
How to Make Copycat Lofthouse Cookies
This homemade version comes together in just a few steps to create the best sugar cookies!
- Mix the Wet Ingredients: Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sour cream, butter, and sugar until light, fluffy, and pale in color. Beat in the egg and vanilla and continue to beat for 2 more minutes.
- Finish the Dough: In a large mixing bowl, whisk the cake flour with the baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix to combine. Chill the cookie dough for 2 hours.
- Form the Cookies: Scoop 2 tablespoon portions of dough and roll it into balls with your hand. Place the balls of dough on a prepared baking sheet, leaving several inches between each cookie. Once all the dough has been used, dip the bottom of a glass in cake flour and gently press the top of each dough ball to flatten it to 1/4-inch thickness.
- Bake: Bake the Lofthouse cookies until just set and the bottoms begin to lightly brown- 8-9 mintutes. Cool on a wire rack.
- Start the Frosting: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, cream the butter and vanilla. Slowly add the powdered sugar and salt, followed by the cream.
- Add the Color: Add a few drops of food coloring
- Mix: Add more a drop or two at a time until the frosting is the color you want.
- Frost: Once the cookies have cooled completely, use an offset spatula to add the frosting. Top with sprinkles before the frosting sets.
Storage Instructions
Place these copycat cookies in an airtight container; if you need to stack them, place wax paper or parchment paper between the layers to keep the frosting intact! They’ll keep at room temperature for 3 to 5 days. You can also freeze these cookies for up to 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Lofthouse cookies are fluffy and soft, with a texture that’s pretty much irresistible! Then, of course, there’s that thick layer of sweet frosting on top.
Yes, whether it’s homemade Lofthouse cookies or store-bought, they can definitely be frozen! Just be sure to put them in a sealed freezer bag or airtight container. They’ll last in the freezer for up to 3 months, and they can be thawed at room temperature.
As with most sugar cookie recipes, Lofthouse cookies do have eggs! If you’re looking for a cookie recipe made without eggs, I recommend trying shortbread!
Store them in an airtight container and avoid overbaking.
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Lofthouse Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup full-fat sour cream
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 ½ cups cake flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Frosting
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- food coloring please use light pink color link in photos
- sprinkles please use rainbow jimmies like in photos
Instructions
Cookies
- With an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the sour cream, butter, and sugar and beat until light, fluffy, and pale in color.
- Add the egg and vanilla. Continue to beat for another 2 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, add 3 cups of cake flour with the baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix to combine.
- Chill the prepared dough for 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 325F. Line two sheet pans with parchment.
- Scoop 2 tbsp portions of dough and roll into balls with your hand. Place onto the prepared sheet pan being sure to leave several inches between each cookie. Repeat.
- Using a flat surface dipped in cake flour (like the bottom of a glass,) gently press each top of cookie to evenly flatten them to roughly ¼-inch.
- Bake until just set, 8-9 minutes, and the bottoms of the cookies begin to lightly brown. It is extremely important to not over-bake Lofthouse cookies! Move the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Top each cookie with frosting and sprinkles.
Frosting
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, cream together the butter and vanilla. Slowly add the powdered sugar and salt.
- Once smooth and creamy, begin to add the heavy cream to reach the desired consistency.
- To color your frosting, start with a few drops of the color of your choice and continue to add more until you get the color you like.
Notes
- Place these cookies in an airtight container; if you need to stack them, place wax paper or parchment paper between the layers to keep the frosting intact!
- Don’t overbake. The cookies should stay pale on top.
- Let cookies cool completely before frosting.
These taste just like the ones that I used to buy from the grocery store!